Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.
Second Timothy Chapter 1, verse 9 & 10. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light.
Time was already counting in the days of creation.
Time was running when “the garden of Eden” was displayed to the first creatures of mankind.
When God first created men, He knew in His all-knowing mind that these men would have to contend with the presence of Satan within themselves. God had ready the antidote. As this man viewed the beautiful tree of life, he saw also in the tree of Good and Evil his own inability to be perfect. He needed the knowledge of how to overcome evil and return to the pre-birth state of everlasting perfection with God.
Man was living within the era of “Time”. In this era he could reclaim immortality in spite of Satan. God provided him with a way to circumvent “the tree of good and evil”; He sent him Christ to clarify by word and example how man could return to the original state of perfection he wanted to achieve.
Originally God knew what His creation of “Time” would do to all of His creations. The Law of “Act and Reaction” or “Cause and Effect” would prevail. Growth had to build over decay; for every new idea an old idea must be enlarged, changed, or destroyed.
The knowledge of Christ evolves as successive generations mature. This is still the “old Faith of our Fathers”, yet a lot more. This is the unfolding of the plan God envisioned before He started the evolution of “Cause and Effect” which resulted in the world as we know it today. As Timothy says, “Christ was given to man before time began.” God gave us a solution for contending with the existence of evil which accompanies “Time” in advance of our Creation. Yes, before the beginning of time God had planned for man to know how to overcome destruction and replace it with the construction of a new pure spirit.